Secondary education
2001 - 2005
Topics
The Next Step Report 2005, QueenslandLongitudinal surveys of Australian youth, 2005: Attitudes, Intentions and Participation
Retention rates in Australian high schools, 2002
Cost of early school-leavers, 2004
Minimum leaving ages, 2004
Literacy in reading, mathematical and scientific reading, 2002
Students in each year/level of education, August 2002
Secondary schooling for Indigenous students, 2001
Indigenous students' retention from one grade to the next, 2001
Participation rates, 2002
Apparent retention rates, 2002
Literacy in reading, mathematical and scientific reading, 2002
The Programme for International Student Assessment was developed by the OECD and its first survey took place in 2000. It assesses the abilities of 15-year-olds in various countries (15-year-olds being generally in the last year of compulsory education) to apply knowledge and skills to real-life problems and situations. It measures literacy in three domains: reading literacy, scientific literacy and mathematical literacy, and uses a scaling method which assigns scores so that 500 is the OECD average, with about two-thirds of all students in OECD countries scoring between 400 and 600. Australian students scored above the 500 average in all three literacy domains:
- for reading literacy, the average score for Australian students was 528, with about two-thirds scoring between 426 and 630;
- for mathematical literacy the figure was 533 (with two-thirds of students scoring between 443 and 623);
- for scientific literacy the figure was 528 (with two-thirds of students scoring between 434 and 622).
Girls scored higher on average than boys in reading literacy (546 compared with 513). There was little difference in scores between girls and boys for mathematical literacy (527 for girls and 539 for boys) and scientific literacy (529 for girls and 526 for boys).
Reading, mathematical and scientific literacy scores for 15-year-olds in 2000:
Source: OECD, Knowledge and Skills for Life: First Results from PISA 2000.
Students’ scores by language background:
International literacy comparisons:
| Selected OECD country |
Reading average score |
Mathematical average score |
Scientific average score |
| OECD average | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| USA | 504 | 493 | 499 |
| Japan | 522 | 557 | 550 |
| Republic of Korea | 525 | 547 | 552 |
| Australia | 528 | 533 | 528 |
| New Zealand | 529 | 537 | 528 |
| Canada | 534 | 533 | 529 |
Source: Lokan, J., Greenwood, L. and Cresswell, J., How Literate are Australia's Students? 2001.
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics 2002, Australian Social Trends 2002: Education – Educational Attainment, ABS, Canberra [viewed 30/11/2006].
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Students in each year/level of education, August 2002
| Government schools | Non-government schools | All schools | |||
% |
Catholic % |
Independent % |
Total % |
'000 |
|
| Year 7 (NSW, Vic, Tas, ACT) | 61.8 | 23.7 | 14.5 | 38.2 | 161.4 |
| Year 8 | 63.2 | 21.5 | 15.4 | 36.8 | 263.2 |
| Year 9 | 63.8 | 21.1 | 15.2 | 36.2 | 257.4 |
| Year 10 | 63.6 | 20.9 | 15.4 | 36.4 | 251.2 |
| Year 11 | 63.3 | 20.4 | 16.3 | 36.8 | 228.3 |
| Year 12 | 61.8 | 21.3 | 16.9 | 38.2 | 199.8 |
| Upgraded | 88.1 | 3.5 | 8.4 | 11.9 | 21.2 |
| Total* | 63.4 | 21.1 | 15.5 | 36.6 | 1,382.3 |
*Full-time equivalent students
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics 2004, Year Book of Australia 2004, cat.no. 1301.0, ABS, Canberra [viewed 30/11/2006].
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Secondary schooling for Indigenous students, 2001
Percentage of Indigenous students completing Year 12: 16.8%
… non-Indigenous students: 39.5%
Highest level of schooling completed –
| Indigenous students |
Non-Indigenous students |
|
| Year 8 or below | 16.8% | 9.4% |
| Year 9 or equivalent | 13.8% | 7.6% |
| Year 10 or equivalent | 27.0% | 24.5% |
| Year 11 or equivalent | 9.2% | 9.9% |
| Year 12 or equivalent | 16.8% | 39.5% |
| Did not go to school | 3.0% | 1.0% |
Source: Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission: A statistical overview of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia, 2003
[viewed 30/11/2006].
Indigenous students' retention from one grade to the next, 2001
In 2001, the retention rate for Indigenous students fell from nearly 90% in year 10 to 67% in year 11. The rate for non-Indigenous students fell from nearly 99% in year 10 to 90% in year 11.
There was an increase in Year 12 retention rates for Indigenous students from 1997 (32%) to 2001 (36%).
| Indigenous students |
Non-Indigenous students |
|
| Years 8–9 | 96.1% | 99.8% |
| Years 9–10 | 89.7% | 98.6% |
| Years 10–11 | 67.6% | 89.4% |
| Years 11–12 | 66.6% | 86.5% |
Source: Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission 2003, A statistical overview of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia, [viewed 30/11/2006].
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Participation rates, 2002
Participation rates for full-time secondary school students in 2002 were:
92% for 15-year-olds
80.9% for 16-year-olds
62.3% for 17-year-olds
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics 2003, Schools Australia, cat. no. 4221.0, ABS, Canberra [viewed 30/11/2006].
Back to topCost of early school-leavers, 2004
Percentage of students achieving Year 12 or equivalent qualifications: >80% (or about 50,000)
… in Canada and the USA: 88%
… in Germany: 91%
… in Japan: 94%
The group proposed a policy to lift the proportion of young people completing 12 years of worthwhile learning to 90% by 2010. They calculated non-market social benefits of more than $100 million a year by 2010 – in terms of improved health, reduced crime, increased family educational attainment and more effective consumer choices.
Source: Age, 27/05/04, p.17. The group’s submission is available online [viewed 30/11/2006] from the Dusseldorp Skills Foundation.
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Minimum leaving ages, 2004
South Australia and Tasmania: 16
All other states and territories: 15
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics 2004, Year Book Australia 2003, ABS, Canberra Primary and secondary education page of the online version of the Year Book [viewed 30/11/2006].
The Next Step Report 2005, Queensland
The Next Step survey was commissioned by the Queensland Department of Education and the Arts as part of the Schools Reporting initiatives. The survey targeted all students who completed Year 12 and gained a Senior Certificate or Certificate of Post-compulsory School Education in 2004, whether they attended a state, Catholic or independent school, or a TAFE secondary college.
The survey shows the initial study and work destinations of young people after leaving school. 23,650 young people completed the survey.
The Next Step Report 2005 documents the results of the survey.
Some of the findings:
• More than 90% of Year 12 completers were studying or in paid employment.
• About two-thirds (67.5%) continued in some recognised form of education and training in the year after they left school.
• Almost as many were studying vocational education and training (VET) as university degrees (30.8% and 36.6% respectively).
• The majority of campus-based VET students were studying at Certificate IV level or higher (8.7%, compared to 6.1% studying other campus-based VET).
• Almost one in six (16.0%) were undertaking employment-based training, either as an apprentice (9.1%) or trainee (6.9%).
• One in three (32.4%) did not enter post-school education or training, and were either employed (25.9%), looking for work (4.6%) or neither working, seeking work or studying (2.0%).
Downlaod Next Step Report 2005 [viewed 30/11/2006].
Source: The Courier Mail, 13/9/2005, p.9.
Longitudinal surveys of Australian youth, 2005: Attitudes, Intentions and Participation
This report examines the relationship between students’ attitudes to school and intentions to participate in education and training, and the influence of these attitudes and intentions on participation in Year 12 and in further education and training.
The analyses are based on data from the 13,600 young people who were sampled when they were in Year 9 of school in 1995 and whose educational and occupational activities were followed annually from that time onwards.
For information on obtaining a copy of the report log on to: http://www.acer.edu.au/research/LSAY/overview.html
Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) [viewed 30/11/2006].
Source: Longitudinal surveys of Australian youth, Research Report 41: Attitudes, Intentions and Participation, by Siek Toon Khoo and John Ainley, July 2005.